A Weak Beast Made Out Of China
by Northernryu
Summary: Okita SougoxKagura. At the very end, of the Gintoki and Kamui battle, the Shinsengumi Captain of First Division is the first to come across the aftermath, and find nothing but a small and fragile one, left alive. She was called Kagura...
1. Shattered pieces of China

**A Weak Beast made out of China**

OkitaxKagura

~1~

_This is the ruins of a battlefield..._

_This is now a graveyard..._

I was dully patrolling the city as a Shinsengumi duty like every other boring day that was supposed to end early and I was just thinking about going to sleep after reaching the headquarters before doing the paper works because I really couldn't be stuffed doing them.

The patrol was another boring one where I had stopped a few fights, helped girls who were about to get hooked, and settle the troubles the Amanto from other planes had made. It was those kinds of lame days... or so I had thought...

But that was different...

Something had happened.

I now come to think that this day was probably the huge turning point of my life, and perhaps wished that this day was another lame day.

At that time, I didn't think 'lame' meant 'peaceful'...

Not until I saw that scene...

Not until I saw _her_...

* * *

It was sunset already and the streets were becoming heavily over-shadowed by elongated shadows of the city buildings and such, especially around here at the edge of this city, Edo.

The atmosphere here was so dark and gloomy.

With the exception of extremely violent fights against gangs and mobs every few months, no one was ever around; as if was a dead part of the city, full of ruins like a graveyard.

And I didn't even dream of how I was going to get to know how right my definition of this place was, before turning that next corner of the building...

When I turned that corner, my eyes widened at the bloody red, death scene like an aftermath of war. And within those ruins, all faces were familiar as if this was another nightmare I was having which seemed all too real.

There was boss, the good-at-nothing glasses, China girl and that Umibouzu who was supposedly one of the strongest sweepers in space who go after the most dangerous beasts to exterminate them, I think it was.

And if I swept around the area more closely with a slight shift of my eyes, I saw one other, lying dead... apart from the others.  
_I think he was one of the feared strongest forces, Captain of Harusame Space Pirate._

_...What was his name again?_

All the ones who weren't supposed to die -_who shouldn't have died_- lay on the ground in a bloody mess.

_Where did all the strong samurai souls go? Weren't those souls protected by the hardest shield called determination and faith or so they called it?_

I had thought boss wasn't one to die no matter who the opponent was or how out-numbered he was...  
But here he was, with eyes that didn't reflect this world anymore.

The look that pierced everyone seemed as if it had reflected back on itself now and his eyes were just wide open in death along with a face expression that didn't suit him at all...

I closed boss' eyelids in respect and move onto the next, doing the same to the 4-eyed kid.  
_He was probably the first to die amongst everyone here..._

"That's why weak ones shouldn't come along to a battlefield..."

Even though I knew my voice wouldn't reach his ears, that was what came out of my mouth.

"Even if you cry... you're not allowed to make your sister cry. That's just a shameful thing to do as a guy- no, as a brother..."

Those were the kind of words that just fell out, when I knew that I was just the same as him. As if I was telling this to myself as well, because I, myself had chosen the battlefield over my sister, leaving her behind.

It was easy to say what I mumbled out to him, but we couldn't throw away our pride as being a man and choosing the battlefield to protect the one we wanted to...

_This guy's feelings... I was the one who knew the most._

That's why, it was understandable of how much determination he had coming to this battlefield, despite how much he might make his sister cry when he left her behind.

_That's why I wouldn't ever be able to say he made the wrong choice..._

_Because I would have made the same choice..._

The next corpse was Umibouzu.

His eyes were already closed.  
Was that plaited red-head stronger than this ultimate sweeper?  
I didn't even know that that was possible, but facts couldn't be twisted if the scene set before my eyes imprinted his dead corpse into my brain.

And so I walked over to the next, to which my eyes widened at the sight.

The plaited red-head... had no face.

It was completely smashed into a bloody mess.

_It doesn't seem like this battle was a draw..._

_Then who...?_

_Was their another opponent here?_

_No, then it would have been this guy's ally, and that boss would never had been allies with this guy._

_But his face is completely crushed. _

_Was he betrayed by his ally?_

_But if so, then what was the purpose of just crushing this guy's face?_

_I don't get it._

_There's too many unanswered questions._

_Now the one left is China girl..._

I stood up and made my legs travel to where the girl was.

But as I got closer, I saw that she wasn't there and I rush over, but there are only bits of her red Chinese clothes splattered in red.

_Where is she?_

Even if I scanned the area, I saw no sign of her anywhere.

To find any traces, I looked down, and then finally saw something that I missed a few seconds ago.

Small splattered trails of blood that lead somewhere further than my eyes were able to make out in this darkness.

_Maybe that girl's still..._

My legs suddenly bolted along the trail of blood that probably directed me to that girl.

Far out from the scene, there was a river that was a huge step below the levelled up concrete wall.  
And when I looked down below, I saw that girl, curled up into a ball.  
3m was about the distance between her and me, but I swiftly closed that distance with a light 'n easy jump down the concrete wall.  
If a normal person fell from this height while being blinded by the night's darkness, the drop would have been fatal.

I examined the China girl's state who seemed well enough to look as though she came down purposely, and what I meant was that it wasn't a fall that she had thrown herself down to by blindness.  
What was more, she had hardly any wounds unlike the others as if she just ran away from the battlefield without hardly a fight.

_But that's not like her..._

Nevertheless, she was still alive, and looking more closely I was able to see that she was shivering all over like a shaking leaf.

_Is she... crying?_

Wrapping her legs tightly to her body, she had her head buried deep, so I wasn't so sure.

"...Hey, are you ok?" a gentle voice, that didn't sound like mine, came from my mouth as I worried over this tiny looking China girl.

With her like this, I couldn't turn on my 'sadist-mode' like usual, and that really got me unsettled because I didn't know how to cope with a girl like this who had been a rivalry opponent. But I knew that if I broke into my sadistic side, this girl was going to break. I wasn't stupid enough to not know that, nor try it out.

But I also knew that there was nothing I can do.

I didn't know what I was _supposed_ to do.

All I was able to do was put a hand on the shoulder of the girl who gave no reaction to me so far, and feeling my touch, the China girl raised her head for the first time and looked up at me.

Her eyes were red and her cheeks were all wet with tears.  
But as if she tired herself out from crying, the tears weren't flowing anymore, and her eyes didn't reflect any light.  
Her eyes were dead, or more like not reflecting my existence.  
She was half unconscious that she wasn't even able to recognize me...

All her senses... were dead.

When I thought she couldn't even speak, her mouth slowly opened.

"Don't touch me."

She wasn't speaking through her consciousness.  
Her eyes were dilated and she was staring at my direction, but not me.

_So what made her react to my touch...?_

_Strong... feelings?_

_Was there some reason that big to not want anyone to touch her?_

"Don't come near me."

Her voice was an emotionless monotone and her appearance was like a tragically messed up doll that was no use for anyone anymore.  
I felt the pity within my heart that I thought I'd ever find within me.

"What are you saying?"

_Was my voice... reaching her?_

Staring down at her slightly raised bloody palms and fingers; China girl spoke again, almost the way as if she was talking to herself.

"If you come near me... you will regret it...  
If you don't want to die, don't come near me..."

Like a broken robot, she spoke like an input sentence and my eyes widened at her words because from that, a certain assumption was made in my mind.

_Was it...her?  
__The one who killed..._

_No...couldn't be._

"Oi, what the hell are you saying? What happ-?"

But my voice was cut off as the China girl suddenly grabbed her head with both her hands and started screaming and crying.

_"Noooooooooooooooooooooo! No! No! No! No!"_

As if I triggered something, she started screaming and shaking her head.  
I had never seen her so broken and mentally unstable.  
She looked like a screaming, weeping weak girl...

Not the usual no-girl-manner-at-all, bad mouthed China girl.

_I don't... know her..._

No matter how many times I tried calling out to her, she didn't react to it and she screamed as she suffered from the inside.

_If I don't bring her back to her senses... she's going to lose her mind!_

_Name... name... what was her name? I can't remember!_

Just as I thought that, I suddenly thought I heard boss' voice calling her out her name.

_...Kagura_

_That's right! China girl's name is-_

"Kagura."

I tried saying it with my own mouth, and surprisingly, China's eyes widened and light was back, reflecting her eyes as if she was awakened from a hypnotic sleep.

"...Sadist?"

She looked up and was able to tell who I was.

"The name is Sougo," I correct her.

I crouched down beside her and bore my eyes into hers that reflected my existence properly now.

"...what happened?"

A tear streak down the China girl's cheek and her eyes became distant with solitude.  
Though being a sadist, he felt that this was something he shouldn't mention again, after seeing even the real China react like this.

"Anyway, Kondou-san and the others will be here soon. You are going to come with us."

But there was no such movement showing that she was going to come along, and if I tried to pull her by the arm gently, she shook my hand away.

"Hey, are you intending to just stay sitting here forever?"

"Who care's about me! Just leave me alone! It doesn't concern you, Sadist!"

"How can it _not_ concern me? This is my job!"

"..."

She silenced at that. Pain shot across her face.

_Maybe she heard it as though I said 'I'm only just doing it for the sake of my job'..._

This was getting irritating and I scrunched my hair up in frustration.

At this point, I would normally drop a hard fist down on her head and say 'are you thinking something stupid? Don't jump into conclusions just because I said it was my job', or something along those lines...

But the China girl right now, sitting right here in front of me, _was made out of China_.

She was so fragile, that if I hit her... she would_ definitely_ break.

_I really don't know how to cope with these types..._

"Don't get yourself all concerned about me...you can just leave me alone."

There she goes again with that small, weak voice.

Her voice was cracking and I knew she was in verge of tears again.

"Why?"

Even though, that was the only thing I was able to say back to her.

"If I fall unconscious again and go wild, I'll become a monster. You will definitely die."

Though so weak and fragile, the voice pierced and echoed right into the back of my skull, and froze my heart in shock.

"Gin-chan, Shinpachi and Papi- got killed by Kamui... and...I had killed Kamui..."

My voice didn't work. _Couldn't_ work.

I was truly lost for words.

_This girl... what is she? Stronger than that boss? The rivalry fight that we always used to do... what was all that then...?_

I felt myself shiver, and the observing China girl's eyes grow dim with depression and loss of hope.

"Do I...scare you?"

Just those simple words made my body react of its own accord, and suddenly knew what I had to do.  
I knelt before her and gently wrapped my arms around her to give her, to make her feel the comfort and ease.

_Such a small, fragile body.  
__If I embraced to hard, I'm afraid that she'll break..._

"I'm not scared. I'm not scared at all."

_So don't make that face..._

My feelings must have reached her, because China girl held my back tightly and started to cry onto my shoulder.

_She was probably scared... of being all alone..._

And at this time, I suddenly felt emotions that I wasn't familiar with. I felt the strong thoughts I never came across before.

_I want to protect her...  
_I_ need to protect her_...

As a guy, I felt I had the duty to protect this weak girl.

This China girl always acts strong and would hide her true feelings all the time so I didn't notice... but she was just another normal, weak, small and fragile girl.

Boss is now gone and no one is here to protect her anymore...

_Ane-ue(sister), _I_ will protect this girl._

* * *

I am Sougo Okita.

Captain of the Shinsengumi First Division.

18 years old and I've finally found a girl that I need to protect...


	2. A Small Herbivore

_I am Sougo Okita._

_Captain of the Shinsengumi First Division._

_18 years old and I've finally found a girl that I need to protect..._

A Weak Beast made out of China

OkitaxKagura

~2~

* * *

Somewhere within the Shinsengumi Police headquarters, a cell phone rang.

"What is it, Sougo? If this is a prank call I'm gonna hang up," was the immediate words that came in an irritated, husky low voice.

_The_ Hijikata Toushiro -the demonic vice commander- was already in a foul mood because he knew that whenever _that_ Okita Sougo called, it would never be anything good 99% of the time, because he was the sadist who only had sadistic thoughts fueling his brain to get it to work, instead of Oxygen, always thinking of what to do next to pull a prank on Hijikata.

"Hijikata-san..."

Sougo's voice sounded unusually serious.

"What?"

Taking out a new cigarette and putting into his mouth, Hijikata irritatingly waits for what Sougo had to say.  
It was going to be another one of those extremely idiotic things that Sougo would always come up with, and only _just_ for the purpose of annoying his target: Hijikata.

He lit his cigarette and waited for the other end to speak.

"...The Yorozuya boss has died."

"What kind of joke is this, Sougo? You want me to slice you into bits?"

Hijikata put on a wry face and tried to keep content with his anger management, but of course, feeling his limit after such a long day, stressing day like his usual, having to do all the paper work that was still yet to finish, sitting neatly upon his desk, waiting for his return.  
He really didn't have the time to be playing along with Sougo's pranks right now.

_Sougo... He really doesn't know when he's crossed the line when it comes to his sadistic pranks..._

"...haha. More paper work for you, Hijikata-san. Bring a few teams over, I'm counting on you," Sougo dryly joked, and informed the place before cutting off soon after.

_What, you already figured that it was a prank call?_ _That's no fun!_ Was what Hijikata had been waiting for, and without it, he still couldn't believe Sougo's words and just stared hard at his now disconnected cell phone.  
But Sougo's voice had been weary and grave.  
If he was acting it, he was doing a really good job at it.  
But being with Sougo for so long, he knew when Sougo was serious, and this phone conversation told Hijikata that this was that 1% when Sougo really _was_ being serious.

That _Yorozuya died? Impossible!_

That was what crossed Hijikata's mind as he climbed into his police car and started the engine.  
It wasn't that he didn't trust Sougo's words... well, he never really trusted anything Sougo said, but asides that for now...  
Hijikata just _had_ to see it with his eyes before that fact actually sunk into his mind.

Flashes of red light lit across the area and the black Shinsengumi uniforms multiplied and diversified as they reached the crime scene, getting out of their vehicles.  
Every member had shock written across their faces, as the infamous Yorozuya members lay still in a sea of blood.

Hijikata gave an order to take care of the dead and search the area to figure out what on Earth actually happened.  
He then noticed that Sougo wasn't around, but just as he noticed that fact, he spotted him walking his way from the direction of the river, carrying a small girl in his arms.

Soon, all the other soldiers' eyes were set upon the small, fragile China girl in Sougo's arms, the scene making everybody stop what they were doing and just stare at the two silently, none voicing out their thoughts since they had none even to begin with.

Same was said with Sougo as he too, walked mutely towards one of the vehicles after having one strong eye contact with Hijikata who nodded understandingly and got into the driver's seat, ready to take him and the girl back to the headquarters.

Exhausting herself from crying, Kagura had fallen asleep in Sougo's arms.  
Sougo's uniform jacket was lightly draped across her small shoulders that was looking heavily oversized for Kagura, making her look much more smaller than she was.

Hijikata glanced at her a few times while thinking of the many scenarios that could have had happened to her, trying to figure out an explanation for how this chaos had happened and what had caused the China girl so beaten up like this.

Unconsciously, Kagura's pale hands trembled while grasping tightly onto Sougo's front.  
From her closed eyelids, yet again, tears started slipping away, sliding down her already tear-stained cheeks.  
Even in her unconsciousness, she seemed to feel the fear and solitude.  
_Exactly_ the things Kagura wanted to be free from.  
She so strongly wished for them to go away, even if she was to discard some important things along with it.  
Just as long as she can escape from this pain...

_I'm sorry everyone... But it's too painful._

_I can't bear to be all alone again... I can't stand the sadness..._

_Please let me disappear..._

_Along with these painful emotions, I want to disappear all together..._

_Forgive me..._

Those were Kagura's thoughts while she sat on Sougo's lap, not knowing how worried Sougo was.  
And Sougo, didn't have the slightest idea that Kagura was thinking such things, and that her existence slowly starting to fade and disappear right from within his arms...

* * *

On a bright morning the early sun rays gently brought an innocently sleeping girl back to consciousness.  
Slowly those eyelids rose and revealed the pair of blue jewels that were hidden behind them.

Those eyes set upon the first thing they saw, which was a mop of chestnut brown hair.  
And hidden beneath the shadows of it, was a soft, relaxed look of a sleeping face, containing beautiful long lashes and smooth lips that were slightly apart.  
But those features were gone in a flash when the consciousness broke through and distorted for a second before the two were soon in a situation where they just stared blankly at each other in silence for a good few minutes.

"...ohayo"

Sougo broke the silence and waited for Kagura's reply, but received none.  
Not even the slightest reaction was given back to him, as if he was greeting a still doll.

"What, I thought you'd scream and send me a punch or two... but you're not even giving me a single word..."

Those said words made Kagura realize her current situation, of which she was lying in the same laid futon (*Japanese mattress and duvet) as Sougo.

"I didn't do anything to you. Yesterday you wouldn't let me go so this is how we are right now," Sougo explained before he really got a heavy blow from the beast-strength girl.

It was a fact though, because Kagura was grasping onto Sougo as if it were her lifeline, so when he laid Kagura on his futon, he himself lay on top of the covers and watched over her, but found himself drifting off to sleep as well.

But again, Sougo received nothing.  
And what's more, she didn't even show the slightest pained expression or sadness which made Sougo assume that she was still confused after everything that happened, and needed time to get back her memories back and understand her situation.

He waited for the heavily pained expression of hers that he didn't want to see, and closed his eyes, gritting his teeth for that time to come.  
But when silence was the only thing that came back no matter how long Sougo waited, he peeled his eyes open to see the slightly surprised, slightly curiosity-filled face of Kagura's and he then finally found something off about her, although he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

Nevertheless, Kagura had woken up.  
Sougo had to tell that fact to Kondou-san, so he slowly stood up.

"I'm gonna go tell Kondo-san that you're awake now," Sougo said and stepped a foot out of the room, when he finally got a reaction from Kagura for the first time.  
It was a very small movement, but Sougo saw it clearly.  
The innocent blue eyes of hers had looked slightly frantic as Sougo had moved away from her.

_I don't know this weak, fragile girl...  
__This isn't that girl I know..._

Before Sougo's eyes, Kagura looked like a complete stranger to him.  
She wasn't the Kagura he knew at all.

_With her like this I can't even turn on my sadistic mode and I can't say anything that might cross the line.  
I don't know how to handle these types of girls..._

_But this girl... what the hell is she thinking anyway?  
I can't read her mind..._

Sougo then reminisced Kagura's voice that rang in his ears that night.

**"Don't get yourself all concerned about me...you can just leave me alone."**

"**Do I...scare you?"**

That question she asked with that fearful expression, afraid of the answer that I was to give.  
Normally Sougo wouldn't give a damn about another's feelings, but somehow Sougo suddenly felt he knew what Kagura was feeling right now.

"...do you want to come with?"

As soon as Sougo tested an offer, Kagura quickly and rushed over to Sougo's side as if she thought that if she was too slow, she would get left behind.  
Sougo raised a brow at how quietly Kagura had rushed over to his side with barely a sound made, while if it was the Kagura he knew, she would've made a racket with just that movement. But asides that...

_Just as I thought... you're afraid of being alone..._

Sougo's brows furrowed for a fraction of a second, before he started walking down the corridor, Kagura followed closely behind and not missing a step of rhythm with Sougo's footsteps, like a shadow.

Testing her out, Sougo stopped his feet in the middle of the corridor, and as predicted, Kagura also perfectly stopped in time without bumping into him.  
When he started to move forward again, Kagura follow without delay.  
Kagura was only a fair amount shorter than Sougo, but to him, this Kagura felt like a young kid with a height that only came up to Sougo's waist.

After turning the last corner of the corridor towards Kondo-san's room, Sougo heard voices of Kondou-san and Hijikata, and the atmosphere somewhat serious.

"Ah, Sougo. How is that beast-strength girl?" asked Kondo-san, looking seriously concerned.

"Oi, Sougo. You left her all alone and came here?" Hijikata demanded and Sougo bent his brows.

_What the hell? Is Hijikata-san's eye balls made out of hardened mayonnaise? I am definitely not going to admit that he's our vice commander!_

Without answering the question, Sougo just stared at Hijikata, and to that, Kondo-san also pipped in.

"That's right, Sougo! Even if she was a rivalry existence to you, you shouldn't leave such an emotionally unstable, fragile girl all alone!"

By that, Sougo's eyes widened.

"What are you saying, Kondo-san? If it's that girl, she's right-..."

_Huh...?_

When Sougo looked behind his shoulder, Kagura was no longer right behind him, but _right_ behind him.  
Kagura had closed the small distance she had with herself and Sougo so that she had hidden herself from the other two's vision with Sougo's body.  
She stuck close to Sougo's back and had both hands grabbing onto his back for secure.

With this, of course the other two couldn't see.

Sougo raised his arms, Kagura's face exposed a little, which made Kagura hurriedly shift her head behind Sougo's back, but the other two didn't miss her.

"Oh! Um... What was her name again?"

Kondo-san tried to start a conversation with her, but cut off and whispered an SOS question to Hijikata.

"Uh...I don't know..."

The demonic vice commander answered in a low, husky voice, and Sougo found his moment of being able to switch onto 'sadistic mode'.

"Leaving aside Kondo-san, your brain really seems to be made out of mayonnaise, Hijikata-san. If you can't even memorise one girl's name, you should be disqualified as a vice commander. Don't you agree with me, Kondo-san?"

" 'Brain made out of mayonnaise'? Well, if you top up mayonnaise on top of mayonnaise without losing balance, you can't say it's not similar looking... no, stop kidding around! Are you playing with me, huh! Don't use me as your butt of a joke! And plus, do you even have the right to say that to me! Do _you_ yourself even remember her name, Sougo!"

Behind the howling mad-dog Hijikata, Kondo-san was making his own dark and depressing corner in the room, becoming extremely gloomy as he was mumbling to himself, "'leaving aside'? What do you mean 'leaving aside'? Am I that unimportant and insignificant? Most of the main characters are gone and I'm still _that_ insignificant?"

But completely ignoring the heavily depressed commander of Shinsengumi headquarters, Hijikata and Sougo stared hard at each other.

"..."

After a moment of silence, Sougo raised an arm and talked to the hiding china girl.

"Tell these two idiots what your name is."

"See! Even you don't remember!" the demonic Hijikata pointed out in rage.

"Hm?"

Sougo looked somewhat confused as he found the girl sitting down by his feet behind him like she had tired herself out.

_Extreme energy deficiency?_

Kagura tilted her head to one side looking quite surprised at Sougo.

_Why is she tilting her head?_

"Hey, your name," Sougo said again, but no reply.

_..._

"…you _do_ remember your name, right?"

Kagura looked very confused and Sougo found that his unwilling thought was right.

"…you don't," Sougo quietly stated the answer for Kagura understandingly.

Sougo could no longer hear the wailing of Kondo-san anymore as he crouched before Kagura to level his eyes with her.

"Your name… is Kagura."

With a softened face expression and voice, that was what Sougo said to the small china girl.

_So he knew…_

Hijikata brought out a cigarette and lit it as he watched Sougo and Kagura.

"Kagu…ra?" she stuttered out her name in a quite voice with a somewhat blank face.

With a sound that seemed like it tried to say the name for the first time, Sougo confirmed that she remembers nothing.

Nothing at all…

The sky is blue and the birds are chirping, it can be no perfect a morning, yet to Sougo it looked and seemed very distorted.

"Kondo-san… I think she has memory loss. I don't think we can ask her anything about what happened to her or the others…" reported Sougo to Kondo-san while his eyes never left Kagura's.

"In such a devastating disaster, it's not surprising if that was so," Hijikata commented.

"No… It's not how you think…"

With a slightly lower tone than usual, Sougo mumbled out those words which made Kondo-san and Hijikata stare at each other having know clue what Sougo had meant, but Sougo didn't continue with the explanation.

He just stared at the small-animal-like china girl who couldn't even tell that those words were about her or if it was even a depressing statement and she still had that blank face, free of any hurtful emotions building within her that made Sougo stare towards her with saddened and somewhat pitiful eyes.

How much she must have blamed herself and carried the entire burden upon herself, trying to withstand the suffocating pain and sadness before she could no longer take it that she wanted to cast everything aside, even if it took all her memories away, made Sougo feel in pain as well.

He, who never really cared about other people's pain until now, suffered to see Kagura's blank face and that pulled his heart strings more than it should have.

The other two felt the atmosphere becoming a bit heavy and Kondo-san tried to lighten it up.

"Well anyways, for now beast stren- I mean Kagura-chan will be under your care, so we'll be counting on you, Sougo!" Kondo-san brightly stated which broke Sougo from his trance and made him whip around to the owner of that voice.

"No way~!" Sougo protested looking heavily annoyed.

"I don't want to do it, Kondo-san. Why do I have to do the baby-sitting?"

_I did think that I wanted to protect her…but_

"I won't accept having to baby sit her 24/7!"


	3. Babysitting a small rabbit

A Weak Beast made out of China  
OkitaxKagura  
~3~

"I won't accept having to baby sit her 24/7! Make Hijikata-san be responsible for her since he seems least busy than anyone else."  
Sougo who was told to take care of Kagura, immediately declined the order from the Commander of Shinsengumi and quickly turned his 'sadistic-mode' on as usual, dumping troublesome duties onto the Vice Commander.

"By the looks of it, Hijikata-san seems to have the most time in his hands since he has so much time to spare smoking. Baby-sitting a girl or two should be nothing. Isn't that right, Hijikata-san?"  
With that fake innocent mask Sougo was pulling, and those words that slyly come from that mouth irritated Hijikata as usual.

"You know I bloody well can't! With such a huge fuss like this, you know there's a mountain load of paper work to do! You think being the vice-Commander is a joke, do you? _Huh!_?"

"No, you've got it all wrong, Hijikata-san. I was praising you. A person like Hijikata is so great that he can do all the paper work and at the same time take care of a girl. I believe you have the skills to, Hijikata-san. I really do believe in you."  
The sincere words were not said so sincere as if he had really meant those words.  
The tone was deflated and almost robotic, as if there hadn't been any sincere feelings at all, which was exactly the case.  
And then it was that innocent smile.  
Behind that smile he was giving Hijikata, evil intentions were there, and Hijikata saw right through that façade Sougo was putting up, which added oil to Hijikata's burning rage.

"Are you _playing_ with _me_, Sougo?"  
Holding the boiling anger, Hijikata calmly asked Sougo in his deep, husky voice.

"Oh, damn, you had realized it?"  
Sougo's reply came as his innocent facade cracked easily, replaced with his usual, knowing smirk drawn across his face, and that did it.

"_That's it! I'm gonna f*cking slice you into pieces once in for all!_" Hijikata screamed hysterically that it reached an octave higher than it usually was, and so fast that the words had to catch up to Hijikata's movements.  
But in the last second, Kondo-san pulled Hijikata back from pouncing onto Sougo in rage.

"Hmm, then what about Kondo-san? Could you do the baby-sitting?" Sougo asked sounding a bit hopeful and in a tone that was clearly different to the one used on Hijikata.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Sougo."  
That was the reply that came from Kondo-san who said it straight out with confidence while folding his arms like that was a definite answer and nothing could be done to change it.

"The reason to that is because Kagura-chan seems to have taken a liking in you! To compare myself to you, she would definitely like it to be better to have you in charge of her rather than someone like me!"  
Kondo-san boastingly said it out loud even though he hurt his own feelings, saying so.

"That shouldn't be right, Kondo-san. I'm sure she won't mind you either," Sougo said smoothly.  
But when Kondo-san neared Kagura with a huge, full-on smile…

"Uu… _Uwaaaaaaaaaaan~!_"

…she strated crying out loud.  
And to that, Kondo-san had crawled into the corner of the room and created full-on streams of tears, flowing out of his eyes as well.

"See! _See!_ I'm not wanted! I'm totally hated! I'm definitely sure that she hates me!"  
Kondo-san became really negative and started weeping as he started mumbling how bad a person he is, not wanted, not needed, insignificant and such…

And then there was Hijikata, trying his best to take away his Commander's gloomy aura while Sougo sighed at the result and crushed up his hair into his fist while looking down at the problematic crying girl.

Again he crouched before Kagura, but without knowing how to comfort her, he just rested a hand on her shoulder.  
To his surprise, Kagura then widened her eyes and stared up at Sougo's with her crystallized blue eyes that was still watery but had stopped flowing.

"Let's go eat."  
Sougo stood up and raised a helping hand towards Kagura.  
The problem was, that even after she took Sougo's hand to stand up, Kagura wouldn't let go of his hand.  
Once again, Kagura's face was plastered with a look that Sougo just couldn't read, and what's more, he couldn't even get his hand back when he gave a small tug as Kagura kept her firm grip, not about to let go any time soon.  
Sougo felt troubled and confused on what to do about this.

"…Let go."  
As if not to hurt her feelings, Sougo had said it softly.

"It's only just holding hands, Sougo. Why don't you let her?" the fully recovered Kondo-san defended Kagura's action.

"It's troublesome, Kondo-san. What do you think the others w-?"  
Once the word 'troublesome' came out from Sougo's mouth, he suddenly felt Kagura let his hand go immediately like as if an electricity zapped between their hands.  
Taken by surprise at this, it left Sougo hanging mid-way across finishing his sentence.

Sougo quickly picked up on the fact that the word 'troublesome' was what had hurt Kagura.  
He didn't even notice that he was picking up so much detail and understanding Kagura much more others, or even much more than he himself thought.

But if he took back those words that just poured out of his mouth just then, the words would become a lie, and the fact was that it wasn't entirely.  
So he decided to just turn around and paced down the corridor towards the cafeteria of the headquarters and as he predicted, Kagura still stuck to him like a shadow, mimicking every step of his, just half a meter behind him.  
If he quickened his pace, Kagura would also pick up the pace without a delay.  
To that, Sougo felt the corner of his lip rise into a small smile and thought maybe this was what it was like when people say that pets are cute and loyal.

Finding out that you were the exceptional and only interest was a genuinely happy thought, but Sougo wasn't to forget that she wasn't an animal, and neither a child.

Kagura was like a small but wild beast-like animal, and not to mention, destructive and dangerous at times.  
But now... she was different.  
She had strong human personality and feelings of soft, weak, unstable, insecure, lonesomeness and fear.  
She was extremely emotionally fragile, like a living bomb that could shatter her with just the smallest impact.  
...All that were Sougo's least likeable standards that he could handle.

Without a reason, Kagura had been the best partner-like existence for sparring while he had rivalry motivations against her and was having fun fighting with her for all this time.  
But now, it she had become his worst type to handle, and on top of that, he had no choice but to take care of her.

* * *

At the cafeteria of the headquarters, Kagura felt all the stares directed at her and became frightened, making her hold tightly onto the hem of Sougo's jacket, closing up the space between her and Sougo to feel secured and away from all the stares.  
Sougo felt the tug of the hem of his jacket and quickly got rid of Kagura's hands from them.

"Don't."

The crimson eyes stared hard down at Kagura's fearful eyes.  
Not being able to take those crimson eyes that stared hard either, Kagura looked away, covering her mouth with heavily shaking hands.  
Sougo took notice of this behavior, and then realized what her problem was when he finally felt the stares from the Shinsengumi members in the cafeteria.

"Where the hell do you think you guys are looking at? You want to have my sword slice through you, huh?"  
With murderous crimson eyes, the First Division Commander asked a rhetorical question out to those who dared to act like this, in a venomous voice.

Fearing the First Division Commander, the others immediately looked away getting back to their personal lives.  
With that, Sougo straightened himself and quickly grabbed a set meal for two and U-turned back from where they came from.  
When he passed Kagura, he ordered her 'we're going' and to that, the fear that clouded her eyes vanished in a flash as she followed the First Division Commander in a rush, sticking to him once again like a shadow.

The two sets of breakfast were put down on the tatami floor when they reached Sougo's room.  
Sougo rested himself to the floor, followed by Kagura, silently sitting beside him.  
He indicated Kagura for her to start eating as he himself raised his own chopsticks, but seeing that Kagura didn't seem have any intention of eating, he lowered his chopsticks.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Sougo asked awkwardly, trying to voice what he felt.  
Until now he had been throwing insults at her and shooting provoking words at her, all without truly meaning to hurt her feelings, and he received the same.  
He was so used to that kind of rivalry conversation, that with her like this, the relationship between the two became awkward, dropping Sougo down into a whirl of confusion and irritation.  
What was more, to this change in relationship, the only one affected by it was Sougo.  
He didn't know what to do, and how to say things with sincerity or without hurting other people's feelings, especially to an extremely emotionally fragile girl.

"You'll die if you don't eat," Sougo said as a matter-of-factly without thinking again, and that was a landmine he had accidentally stepped on again.  
The frightened Kagura widened her eyes in fear and tears swelled up in her eyes.  
'Die' was another word not to use in front of her.

"No, I mean… if you don't eat.. you'll get…unhealthy…okay?" Sougo immediately tried to correct what he truly meant by those words and anxiously observed Kagura's reaction.  
But Kagura's tears quickly disappeared and her face expression was as if none of that actually happened between them, like part of a scene erased, and Sougo seemed somewhat surprised and extremely confused.

* * *

'Eat three meals a day properly or else your health will lose balance and you will get sick', was what Mitsuba, Sougo's older sister had used to say all the time to Sougo and for that, Sougo couldn't help worrying if Kagura didn't eat, and have an appetite at all.

"Oi, Sougo. How's that girl?" Hijikata asked Sougo as they coincidentally met up in the corridor.

"Hijikata-san," Sougo acknowledged who was talking to him, "well she hasn't eaten anything for 3 days now. But I had heard the boss complaining once that she eats so much that everyday they only had just salt and sugar at home…"

"W-well that's an abnormal appetite…"  
Hearing that, Hijikata sighed in relief, glad that it wasn't them, the Shinsengumi who had taken care of her, but the Yorozuya.

(*SLS-MAYO-ITF*) (Super-Lovely-Special-MAYOra's-Inner-Thoughts-Forum)

_Wait! but we're the ones taking care of her now…_  
But right now she hasn't gotten her appetite back, so we're safe for the moment of time being?  
_What are you sayin! We're trying to GET her appetite back!_  
You mean you want her to get her back into her abnormal monster eating…?  
_Of course! If she doesn't, then she'll die of starvation!_  
But wait… she's a Yato right? Not human. So she's probably immorta-  
_The hell! Of course she's not! Are you stupid? ...Damn, I shouted at myself that I'm stupid… What the hell am I doing!?_  
Anyway, its not like I'm the one having to pay all her expenses, so we'll leave that to that old man, Matsudaira…  
_Uh.. but he might say something like: Why do I~ have to do such a thing, aae? Leaving dear Kuriko aside and feeding a stranger~? Who in the world would do such a thing, aae?_  
Then what do you suppose we do? Cut down our own expenses? Or-

"Hijikata-san. Stop making a weird Stupid-Lowlife-Screwed up-MASOchist-Inner Thoughts-Forum. At this rate, this chapter's gonna end with this stupidity," Sougo broke through Hijikata's forum.

"Oh, sorry…" Hijikata apologized without putting it to thought, and then a second later, figured what Sougo had actually just said.

"I'm not a masochist! What's with the randomly changed abbreviations!"  
Those were the first things Hijikata took notice of.  
And then, 2~3 seconds later, he noticed the larger, the more important problem.

"H-hhhh how did you know I had opened a *SLS-MAYO-ITF*…?"

"Well, Hijikata-san. That's because I'm also reading this fan-fiction."

"What did you say! A fan-fiction! F*ck in hell! Who the hell is the one responsible for making this screwed up fan-fiction! No wonder this didn't seem like Gintama at all! Gintama is a comedy manga! Ya hear!? A comical parody! Which part of this whole thing is a parody, _aah? _Bring back that stupid main character! Revive him! Put everything back to how it was, I can't stand this craziness!"

"Quit howling like a mad dog. You act just like how you are, a dog of the military…" Sougo sighed and complained while he had his ears covered for protection.

"_Who's howling!?_" Hijikata said in a louder voice still, harming the poor Sougo-kun who was already having enough of the loudness.

"Oi, you! Writer! What the hell is up with the '_harming the poor Sougo-kun who was already having enough of the loudness_' huh!? You're being really biased here!" complained Hijikata, but the writer ignored it completely.

Hijikata flared up in anger, his aura growing from red to black, ready to kill.

"Well, don't worry, Hijikata-san. Your stupidity is still the same, and I will be like always, trying to (attempt killing you and making it look like an accident and) take your position as a vice-commander," Sougo said in a very normal tone.

"Oi! What's up with the words in the brackets, huh? And you tell me not to _worry_!?" Hijikata howled, almost screaming while Sougo starts walking away from him.

"Well, anyway, that's how it is," Sougo replied and waved a hand back without looking back.

"What do you mean 'that's how it is'…?" Hijikata muttered, looking at Sougo's back, after he had calmed his breathing.  
But no matter how calm and natural Sougo was acting, Hijikata was very worried.

_Sougo's not familiar with these kind of situations…__I just hope he won't crush himself mentally…_


	4. Adjusting

_"What do you mean 'that's how it is'…?" Hijikata muttered, looking at Sougo's back, after he had calmed his breathing.__  
But no matter how calm and natural Sougo was acting, Hijikata was very worried._

Sougo's not familiar with these kind of situations…

I just hope he won't crush himself mentally…

* * *

A Weak Beast made out of China  
OkitaxKagura  
~4~ Adjusting

* * *

It was the usual Sougo with his usual tone of voice directed at Hijikata, but his eyes were almost completely lacking the arrogance that usually looked down on Hijikata.

He didn't even seem to realise that Hijikata was actually forcing himself to scream idiotic comebacks that he could think of on spot.  
To Sougo, taking care of Kagura was one huge problem, which looked as though he wasn't doing that job at all, yet he was.

Getting some days off patrol, Sougo babysat Kagura.  
Looking up at the ceiling or the sky from out the doors of the fusuma which Sougo leaned on, he was talking to a certain silver-haired man who wasn't there.

"Boss... What am I supposed to do? I'm so lost..."  
He sighed deeply, which was unlike himself that Kagura looked up at him with a worried looked plastered across her face.  
Noticing such expression upon Kagura's face, he shook his head as if to say 'it's nothing'.  
Whether she was satisfied with that or not, she averted her gaze and returned to what she was doing.

What she usually does recently was folding origami papers, drawing and such things that a small child would do daily.  
Watching Kagura go back to what she was doing, he shifted his gaze towards the sky again, this time taking care not to sigh again.

The person who was easiest to hang out with became the most difficult type to handle, and not knowing how to cope with that huge gap of difference between the two personalities of the same person, Sougo's irritation multiplied by the day.

After that tragic incident, a few weeks had already passed and Kagura was sticking to Sougo like glue, following wherever he went.  
Sougo looked as though nothing really had changed within him.  
...but if Sougo was observed more carefully, there was evident kindness and worry directed towards Kagura.  
But this was such a small change in him that even Sougo himself did not realise the different emotions he was starting to hold for her.

What was absolutely no different since the very first day was that Kondou-san still gave the brightest smiles to Kagura, who ran away from it as quickly as possible.  
Watching her run away, Kondou-san's face expression always tragically turned into a frown along with rivers of tears flowing down his manly, gorilla face.

And when it came to Hijikata, Kagura won't even look at his face before he even got to open his mouth for a word or two, and she would always hide behind Sougo.

Even Yamazaki, the one who was known as the most bright, cheerful (and Jimmy*) wasn't on Kagura's goods list.

With a reason unknown, Kagura only had that sadistic Sougo on her goods list although he would hardly ever show any kindness to anyone.  
Maybe the reason lay within her instincts, even after her amnesia, and her affinity towards Sougo remained at a high rate.

* * *

When morning came accompanied by good weather, Yamazaki was seen practicing badminton in the garden inside of the headquarters.  
After noticing Kagura following closely behind Sougo as usual, Yamazaki turned her way and gave a bright smile.

"Good morning, Kagura-chan!"  
The two both stopped in their steps at the voice, and Kagura hid behind Sougo as always.  
Yamazaki's shoulders slumped once again after seeing Kagura disappear behind Sougo.

_I'm always trying to look cheerful as I can and not to look scary or anything- not that I was in the first place- so why does she hate me?_

"Oi, Yamazaki!"  
Being called, Yamazaki raised his head and then became ghostly white at the sight.  
Sougo, who was wearing a faded color roomwear kimono, had the glint of sadism reflecting in his eyes.  
He smirked while pointing the tip of his sword straight at Yamazaki's neck.

"The first person you should be greeting to is _me_, don't you agree?"

"_Eeeee-~~~h!_"

"Shut up, Yamazaki! You're so damn noisy!"  
The person who growled and had come out of a room nearby was the vice-commander of Shinsegumi with a similar, yet darker version of roomwear to as Sougo.

"Vice commander! But captain-...!"  
Hijikata ignored Yamazaki's ranting of complaints and glanced over to Sougo and Kagura.  
He then noticed Kagura who had come out of Sougo's shadow and was staring intensely at him.

"...mornin'," Hijikata tried greeting her.  
And then to his amazement, she actually gave a small bow, respectfully.  
For all this time, she would've just run away behind Sougo and would always fear the people in response to who would talk to her, but she had suddenly accepted Hijikata now.

_She always used to avoid me... so why so suddenly...? Seriously, what on earth-?_

"Seriously, what on earth is she thinking, don't you think, Hijikata-san?" Sougo said with a sigh as he voiced Hijikata's thoughts.  
Hijikata looked up towards Sougo in surprise but seeing Sougo's unusually disturbed face, he was able to say nothing back to him.

Sheathing the sword back to its rightful place, Sougo then started to walk towards the cafeteria of the headquarters.  
Immediately responding to the action, Kagura fell closely behind Sougo again so she wasn't left behind.

"Kagura-chan hasn't smiled once since that incident...but," Yamazaki quietly started muttering as if he was talking to himself rather than directing them to Hijikata, "if she had amnesia, she shouldn't remember anything. Not even emotions. So she should be able to smile... So I wonder why she always looks a little lonely?"

* * *

Hijikata unusually, fully listened and comprehended on Yamazaki's words and thought hard about it.

_That girl is only just hesitant in reaching out for happiness. Even if she doesn't remember anything, she's probably instinctively rejecting it._

It was a day off for Hijikata, and he was wandering around Edo aimlessly as he unusually racked his brain for a problematic girl.

_That means we have to create an environment for her where she can naturally bring herself to smile... but the problem here is how exactly-...?  
_

__He thought about all the soldiers at Shinsengumi, who were all rowdy men and he shook his head mentally, thinking there was not a chance that the China girl would ever be able to smile in a place like that.

Just then, a colourful advertisement caught his sight and he stopped right in front of it, staring at it with widened eyes for a good few seconds.

_Festival... That's right! This is exactly it!_

* * *

"Oi, Sougoooooo!"  
As soon as Hijikata got back, he boomed over the corridor that reached all the way to Sougo's room and Sougo popped his head out of the fusuma door.

"What's up, Hijikata-san?"

"Go to the festival!" Hijikata boomed an order as he stomped over to Sougo's room.

"...What?"  
Sougo looked up at Hijikata with a bewildered expression.  
Confusion arose as Sougo looked up into Hijikata's concentrated piercing gaze given to him.  
He had no idea what Hijikata was thinking.

"Is there... something at the festival? Was there information upon the jouiroushi agai-?"

"For that china girl!" Hijikata spat as he stared at Sougo as if he was staring at someone utterly stupid.

"Chi...-?"  
Sougo widened his eyes in utter shock.  
But that only lasted a few seconds as his 'sadistic-mode' turned on and decided to pull Hijikata's leg after a few weeks of absence of this mode.

"Hijikata-san. You've finally turned into the girl's sweet wittle daddy?" Sougo grinned and said.

"'the hell I would!" Hijikata quickly retorted back.

"Because you're so worried~"

"Shut up and just go!"

"I decline."  
Sougo suddenly answered in monotone as if his sadistic-mode switched off suddenly.  
Kagura, who had raised her head and perked her ears to the word 'festival', now looked back down in disappointment after hearing Sougo's decline.

"I decline baby-sitting her that has no relation to my job. And plus, like I've already mentioned before... this isn't that chick," Sougo then continued reasoning with his decline with a tone that slightly hinted sadness, "so there's no excitement in going to the festival for me anyway..."

He then became expressionless as his mode switched suddenly again.

"If you really want to take her so badly, why don't _you_ go take her then, Hiji_papa_-san?"

"Who the hell is _Hijipapa-san!_Stop it with the misunderstanding name calling!"

"Yes. I'm terribly sorry. I had it all wrong. It should be Hiji_papi-_san*," Sougo humbly apologized.

"_Are you trying to say that I'm a dog!_ Hijikata snapped.  
(Referring to the sounds 'papi-' with 'puppy')

"It suits you very well," Sougo remarked, accompanied by one of his best fake smiles.  
"_YOU WANT TO DIE THAT BADLY, SOUGO, HUH! I'LL MAKE SURE YOU REST IN PEACE FOREVER, ONCE IN FOR ALL!_"

Hijikata was starting feel very frustrated over Sougo's mood swings, while Sougo, who covered his ears to Hijikata's screaming, missed Kagura's loneliness and disappointment at that time.

* * *

Night came by quickly and at the entrance of the headquarters, Hijikata and Yamazaki was waiting for Kagura to take her to the festival.

"Oi, we're leaving."  
The husky voice echoed along the corridor, all the way to Sougo's room.  
Sougo was sitting down on the floor, leaning against the open fusuma door as he folded his arms before him.

"Get going."  
Looking at Kagura who didn't move an inch after being called, he ordered her to go.  
After hearing that, hesitantly, Kagura stood up and started heading out.

Just before she passed Sougo, she felt her wrist being grasped and she froze.

"...if you don't fully enjoy yourself at the festival, I'm not going to take care of you anymore. Got it?" Sougo said rhetorically as he then averted his gaze and let go of her wrist.

While listening to the soft padding of her footsteps travelling further and further away from him, Sougo let out a sigh.  
It wasn't that he couldn't be bothered taking her.  
It wasn't that he didn't like festivals either.  
But something inside him was pulling him back from doing all this.

What this 'something' was, was the feelings he had come to realise while he was with Kagura during the past few weeks.  
Watching her with no reaction, had keep making him wonder how she would have reacted if it was the other self.  
He had realised how much he had actually enjoyed fighting with Kagura.  
He had enjoyed it so much that it was suffocating him to see her boasting, loud and obnoxious rivalry friend become a doll with no emotions.  
The only girl who had been able to keep up with his retorts, sadism and fights...  
The only girl who would react to each sadistic actions or words and constantly be his opponent...  
The only girl who properly acknowledged his existence without doubt...

Now that that was all gone, he couldn't help but want her old self to come back so desperately.  
But since she didn't desire this, it wasn't an option for Sougo to forcefully bring her back.  
If Kagura wished this, then she should stay like this with no memories of that gruesome incident... It should be better that way.

_It should be better that way... I know that...but..._

The more time spent with her, the more Sougo desperately wanted the China girl he knew, back.  
So much to the extent that recently he wasn't even able to look at her into the eyes properly.  
He just couldn't help but feel that he wanted to get away from her at this moment.

Kagura had conveniently went away and wiped all the memories as she wished, so why did he have to be left here feeling this suffocation?  
Why did he have to be the one in pain in desperation, imprisoned by the past memories of her old self?  
To think and feel that way, Sougo had suddenly felt rage.  
And knowing this rage shouldn't be directed at Kagura, he could only do his best in trying to suppress it by less interactions with her possible.

Although he had said to Kagura to go and enjoy the festival, in his mind, he prayed for something else strongly.

_By the time you come back, please, even just a little, be back to your old self..._

* * *

*'Daddy' normally in Japan is 'Otou-san' or 'Tou-san' or 'Papa'  
'Papa' is a term mainly used for infants and girls.  
But Kagura refers to her dad as 'Papi'.


	5. Festival

_By the time you come back, please, even just a little, be back to your old self..._

* * *

A Weak Beast made out of China  
OkitaxKagura  
~5~ Festival

* * *

Over-crowding streets with adults and children.  
The variety of stands and stalls that lined up next to each other in a straight line strongly pushing away the darkness of the night with their bright warm lights.  
Smiles seen in whichever direction you look at and all enjoying the festival wherever you set your eyes.  
This is what a festival is, and supposed to be.

But within that environment, was an odd pair whose faces didn't brighten along with the crowd.  
These two included: the Vice-commander of Shinsengumi, Hijikata Toushirou and a mute china girl, Kagura, who had amnesia.

Hijikata's face was originally unsmiling as it was, but as for Kagura, she had not smiled once, even after coming here to an exciting festival.  
And beside the pair...was one guy who seemed to be highly enjoying what he was seeing...  
... Yamazaki Sagaru.  
He stared with sparkling eyes in hunger as he found delicious foods lined up and stared longingly at the envious sight of children's scooping goldfish.

WHAM!

"What's the point in _you _getting all excited!"

Hijikata's smack made Yamazaki hold his head dearly as if attempting to ease the pain, but then straightened, looking at his vice-commander with realisation when he understood the words that were thrown to him.

"Oh, right. Kagura-chan!" Yamazaki exclaimed, and then turned towards the shorter figure beside him, "what do you want to do, Kagura-chan?"

Yamazaki attempted to make a conversation but she seemed in no state to be interested in anything as she held the untouched candyfloss in one hand and keeping her head on a downcast.

The three ended up walking around to search for _anything _Kagura might be interested in, yet failed to find anything she wants to eat nor even catch her slightest interest all the way until it finally became time for the last event.

The fireworks.

No girl hated fireworks.  
The two Shinsengumi members kept being hopeful as they walked towards the hill beside the Edo River to see the result of their last resort to cheer the little China girl up. But when they rested upon the grass and observed the fireworks lit up in the night sky, they sighed, not at the beautiful scenery, but at the failure of getting any response from the doll-like Kagura.

"I wonder if Captain would've made a difference if he came with us..."

"I wonder..." Hijikata sighed as he lit his cigarette with his mini 'My-Mayo' lighter.  
It was then that Hijikata felt a presence, spying them from the shadows.  
But this wasn't the first time he felt it.  
In fact, he had felt that they were being watched since their arrival to the festival.

_Is their target us, Shinsengumi? Or..._

Thinking this was something to inspect properly, Hijikata stood up and stared down at Yamazaki who has a confused look upon his face.

"Eh? Vice-Commander? Where are you going, sir?"

"Inspection. Yamazaki. Make sure you don't let your eyes off her," Hijikata ordered, "or else you go through seppuku."

"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Yamazaki screamed in fear while watching his vice-commander walk away leaving the two behind.  
He then repeated his scream as his face streamed with two rapidly gushing rivers when he turned around to see the red-haired small girl already long gone and nowhere to be seen.

"Where did Kagura-chan go when she hasn't even gotten her memory back yet..."

Thinking how convenient it would have been if she was wandering around in the usual bright, red china dress, Yamazaki started to go look for her.

"...ah-," Yamazaki let out a relieving breath before trying again, screaming furiously after finding Kagura with another person,"_Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!_"

After walking around for a good few minutes, Yamazaki found Kagura with no one but that Joui leader, _Katsura Kotarou!_

...who was trying to offer some takoyaki.

"Would happen to want to try one of these? It is very tasteful! Or more like, can you please buy it for my sake? Please! We need to have part-time jobs to earn money since the Joui really need the money to support the group."  
The said Joui leader, revealed that he was a terrorist ever so casually and ever so _casually _doing some selling at a part-time job in a public festival.

Kagura, stared up to the tall Joui leader and to the equally tall white substance, aka Elizabeth, before she shook her head in rejection to the offer.

"What! You do not like takoyaki? You shouldn't be picky with your food! Well, it cannot be helped then. I will give you this Nmaibou instead. Now, now. You don't have to eat this immediately so take it home. Eat it when you feel hungry," Katsura informed and handed Kagura a few Nmaibou.

"_KATSURAAAAAAAAAAAAA!_"

"Hm?"

Katsura quickly prepared into a 'ready for an escape' stance, but finding who it was, stopped half way.

"...oh. It's just you."  
Katsura sighed deeply as if to say "don't scare me like that," and stood upright again.

"WHADDAYA MEAN _'IT'S JUST YOU'_! I AM A SHINSENGUMI MEMBER TOO! DON'T LOOK DOWN ON ME!" Yamazaki raged and pointed his sword at his opponent.  
Katsura didn't even twitch a brow and instead, started to lecture Yamazaki.

"Do not take out your sword in front of a weak and fragile girl! You, are you even qualified to be a policeman! Be ashamed of yourself! Your job is to protect this weak and fragile girl, is it not!"

_Yes... he's absolutely right in ever way..._

Yamazaki put away his sword in defeat and he lowered his head in shame.

"I deeply apologise..."

He then stared at the ground while he was bent in half, suddenly realising what he was currently doing.

_Eeeh? Why the hell am I apologising to a joui extremist!_

"Yes, well, as long as you understand," Katsura forgave Yamazaki and then turned 90 degrees away from Yamazaki, ignoring his existence in a mere second as he spoke to Kagura.

"You stay well with them, understand?" Katsura told Kagura and to her nod, he nodded back, "good."

Katsura and Elizabeth then took their leave, with Yamazaki and Kagura watching over them, disappearing into the crowd.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh! What did I just do! I just let an extremist, a terrorist, a joui leader leave so easily! I am disqualified as a Shinsengumi policeman! This is definitely a seppuku for me! _What the hell should I do?_"  
To Yamazaki who was pulling his hair and screaming his head off in terror with tears pooled in his eyes, Kagura handed him the Nmaibou that she had gotten just minutes ago from Katsura, as if to comfort Yamazaki.

"...eh?"  
Yamazaki reached out for the Nmaibou and read the wrapper.

[Nmaibou, AN・TEI・ZAI*(_The_ Lolly: Apricot Liquor) Flavor! _Mini candy version!_]

Yamazaki's face expression contorted.

_Ehh! Anteizai (stabilizer) is a flavour!_

_And more over, doesn't this say liquor?_  
_If I recall correctly, Kagura-chan is still a minor..._

But kind of getting the fact that Katsura was trying to cheer her up in his own way, Yamazaki handed back the Nmaibou to Kagura-chan.

"Thanks, Kagura-chan. But this is meant for you, so I think it's better for you to keep this for yourself."

Kagura just stared at him with huge round eyes, not entirely understanding what Yamazaki had just said.

* * *

When Hijikata came back to the odd pair, they started heading back to the headquarters where Sougo stood, leaning against the entrance, waiting for them to come back.  
When he heard the sounds of footsteps heading his way, he flickered his closed eyelids open and greets the three.

"Did you enjoy yourself?"

Sougo asked as soon as they were a few steps before the entrance.  
In response, Kagura gave a small nod in response, but the two behind her had 'plan was a failure' written across their faces.  
Confirming their expressions, Sougo set his eyes back on Kagura, and glared.

"Did you play any games?"

"..."

"Did you eat something?"

"..."

"You didn't dare just walk around for the entire night, did you?"

"..."

Toward the cold words Sougo spat at her, Kagura couldn't look at him in the eye any longer and lowered her eyes to the ground.

"I told you that if you didn't fully enjoy yourself, I wouldn't take care of you anymore, _didn't I?_"

Becoming irritated by the second with the mute girl, Sougo grabbed Kagura's arm strongly.  
She flinched and felt her body shiver in fear, but her emotions suddenly turned from fear to surprise when she found that Sougo was pulling her, dragging her somewhere.

Kagura stared at the back of Sougo who just ran without any explanation, and she didn't know what he was thinking at all. She didn't know where he was trying to take her.  
What she did know, was only the fact that her wrist that was pulled by Sougo, was burning.

Kagura's face contorted in pain as she turned back to see Hijikata and Yamazaki already so far away in the distance.

"Oi, Sougo! Where the hell are you going!" Hijikata shouted at the top of his lungs.  
But his voice was too far away to reach Sougo's ears as Sougo just kept pacing towards the darkness of the night, forcibly pulling Kagura along until they were both consumed by the darkness.

* * *

*There is no such word (as in each kanji).  
Just randomly inserting random kanji to make up a word, just like Katsura's usual Nmaibou flavours to get rid of the Shinsengumi squads coming after him.  
The second letter isn't really 'liquor', but more of the meaning 'drunk', but I couldn't find any better kanji so, there!  
And there _is_ a mini lolly version! I saw it! I bought it! It's the size of your palm! v);;

! It's been aaaaaaaaaaaages since I last updated this one (or any FF recently, actually ^^);;  
Been busy with HELL of a lot of things...  
I don't know if I can even keep submitting this series...  
But I'll try my best, so thank you to those readers out there who still are there for me.  
Hope you enjoyed reading~


	6. The Sadist Surrenders

_"Did you enjoy yourself?"_

_"Did you play any games?_"

_"Did you eat something?_"

_"You didn't dare just walk around for the entire night, did you?"_

_"I told you that if you didn't fully enjoy yourself, I wouldn't take care of you anymore, didn't I?_"

_"Oi, Sougo! Where the hell are you going!" Hijikata shouted at the top of his lungs._  
_But his voice was too far away to reach Sougo's ears as Sougo just kept pacing towards the darkness of the night, forcibly pulling Kagura along until they were both consumed by the darkness._

* * *

A Weak Beast made out of China  
OkitaxKagura  
~6~  
The Sadist Surrenders

* * *

Only the sounds of two pairs of footsteps loudly echoed in the silent night.  
It was too dusky and dark to distinguish the whereabouts.  
Kagura felt the fear building up inside her as she got dragged further and further down to a section of the town where not even one soul seemed to be existent.  
Whatever Sougo was thinking, was unknown to Kagura, but without having the time to actually ponder upon it for long the said Sougo suddenly came to a halt.

In front of Kagura, was a dimly lit place under the weak light pole that barely helped with the visibility, yet had shone enough light to allow Kagura to see the plastic tapes accessorising an entrance to a crime scene.  
Sougo ducked under the warning ribbons and pulled Kagura along, inside.

Kagura started feeling a surge of uneasiness and a strong feeling of familiarity with the view of the scene set before her eyes.  
Only the fear seemed to uncontrollably rise within her, while Sougo who hadn't noticed the slightest of how Kagura is feeling, or rather, not caring how her condition was at this point in time, just kept forcibly pulling her along.  
Poor Kagura just tried her best to keep up with the fast pace of Sougo's and try not to trip over.

Where they reached, was the path that aligned with the Edo River, where a concrete wall separated the two levels of ground, connected by a stone-made stairway.  
Sougo finally let go of Kagura's wrist, although there was still not a sign of him turning around to face her.  
It was so dark now that it was hard to see, but there was a definite hand mark from Sougo's strong grip that he unintentionally left on Kagura's wrist.

"Do you remember... where this is?"  
The Prince of Sadists finally opened his mouth to speak.

**I don't know.  
I don't know, but I don't want to find out. **

Kagura's heart beat pumped faster, as if the rush of blood would stop her from hearing unnecessary input of information into her brain, while she furiously shook her head from side to side.

"This is _where I found you._"

Sougo finally turned around to face the small, fear-filled girl who kept shaking her head, not understanding-... not wanting to understand what he's saying.  
His face was unemotional as he just stared at Kagura, who had tears welling up in her eyes as she daringly shifted her gaze towards the crimson eyes that had a look of disinterest and expressed not even a hint of worry.

"You said, right here, to just leave you alone. _'Don't get yourself all concerned about me, you can just leave me alone'._That's what you said to me, didn't you?"

Kagura shook in fear as Sougo's stern voice boom into her sensitive ear drums.  
But the following words which were said with a much calmer toned down voice, gave her a much bigger impact.

"So... that's exactly what I'll do."

It pierced Kagura's heart and froze her spine, stopped her brain.  
The only thing that had any movement was the tears that couldn't bear to cling onto the lashes any longer as the tears dripped down her cheek, her vision blinding and distorting.

The soft cries that uncontrollably slipped from her mouth cuts off all the strings that kept her upright as she crumpled to the ground like a broken puppet without strings.  
To see Kagura weep like this in total despair started to crack Sougo's façade as he gritted his teeth so hard, to stop from breaking down himself.

"Say something, goddamit! Use your mouth! You can speak can't you! Why don't you say what you wanna say or I'm seriously gonna leave you behind!"

Sougo's shout in rage just fuelled Kagura's waterworks and Sougo just felt the irritation rising within him so much that he really needed to release a bit of that emotion by sending a strong kick against the concrete wall.

_WHAM!_

...Like that'd help him from calming his irritation.

He turned his back to the crying China girl as he took a few steps away from her to calm himself down.  
But as if Kagura really thought that the sadist was actually going to leave her behind, she made a desperate grab towards the legs that were walking away form her.

"Don't go... don't leave me behind again... I don't want to be alone anymore... I can't stand it..."

Sougo widened his eyes in surprise and turned back to face Kagura on the ground, clinging dearly onto his legs as she looked up with such a distressful, tear-stained face.

"Please... don't go anywhere anymore...onii-chan*..."

Those words strike Sougo with pure shock.

"...I'm not... your brother."

That's the only reply Sougo managed to say as it finally dawned on him of how much Kagura must have loved her brother.  
And his heart contract so tightly when he was to realise that Kagura was still so lonely and had only wanted to bring back her family together...

_...but had just killed that loving brother... with her own hands..._

Sougo scrunched up his fringe in frustration and despair as he deeply sighed at the sight before him.  
The sadist-mode entirely drained out of his body as he dropped himself to the ground right in front of Kagura.

He had intended to bring back the Kagura he knew forcibly, without considering _her_ own feelings, nor caring if she didn't want to remember anything.  
It screwed his own pace so much to have that unknown girl, so much that he intended to get back his sparring partner with force.

But the Sougo who lacked consideration of others feelings, for the first time ever, put his feelings aside, and promised himself to think what was best for Kagura, making her feelings first priority before anything else, including himself.  
_  
She doesn't have to be back to the normal self, I'm most familiar with...  
I just don't want to damage her very broken and fragile heart any longer..._

To protect her fragile heart made of china...

Sougo turned around and picked her up, onto his back with one final word that had put Kagura to ease.

"Let's go home."

* * *

*onii-chan= Big brother

**Cye:** Totes sorry for the lack of updating this story! Really busy this year, with uni, being the Japanese Society club president, and all these shuhnanogens! So many requests on update, so I decided that I REALLY had to very soon, so here I am.  
I hope I didn't disappoint you with my lack of vocab and bad writing skills from the blank I had for about half a year? Time sure flies faster as you get older...  
I'm so scared that by the time I'm and old geezer, the years will pass at the speed of a Formula 1 car, since Ben Johnson's already here... no wait, make that Carl Lewis, because he's cooler! (*_*)

Anyways... another sorry note, yes I know this is Gintama and yes I know this is really depressing and it doesn't have any comedy in it or parody in it at all, but trust me, I WILL MAKE IT THIS DEPRESSING MY LAST! (For this series anyway).  
I promise that it only gets better/sweeter/funnier from here onwards! (...or I _could _make this the last chapter... O_O! *Runs behind a brick wall to protect myself from readers who have murderous looks, holding sharp shiny things!*)

I do though, have literally 50 Gintama short story ideas (esp Sougo), so I'll try to finish those off and start putting them up as well. So if you are interested, please do check those ones out too (_when_they come out).

Oh, and btw? The more the reviews, the bigger the chance of seeing the next chapter sooner~ hehe.


	7. Padlock and Paperclip

A Weak Beast made out of China  
OkitaxKagura  
~7~ Padlock and Paperclip

* * *

"_So_? Where the hell on earth did you take the poor little girl?" Hijikata asks early next morning while the other party is eating his breakfast.

"Where I found her," Sougo replies simply.

Hijikata's eyes widen in shock.

"Have you totally lost your _mind_!? What the _hell_ on _earth_ were you thinking!?" Hijikata howls.

He didn't know if Sougo was either an exceedingly insensitive bastard, or a strikingly selfish asshole, or both, but his actions were unacceptably wrong even for a Prince from the planet of Sadists.

Hijikata roars his lecturing at Sougo while glaring millions of daggers at him accompanied by a murderous aura, meanwhile all are ineffective to Sougo who keeps scoffing down his breakfast peacefully at his own pace, totally wiping Hijikata's existence from his mind = hearing and vision = Hijikata does not exist right now.

But the hazardous ambiance spreads among the whole room, making Kagura sense the murderous feel in the surrounding atmosphere and brings her to bawl loudly.

"_See!?_ Now she's crying because of you! See that, Sougo. Can you see!? This is the outcome of your retardness of taking her _there_. Oi! See that? _See what you have done!_" Hijikata growls at the ignorant Sougo who doesn't even spare a second to glance at the bawling girl.

"You're so noisy, Hijikata-san. What's wrong with your brain? Constantly saying "see, see, see, see, see". Are you a seagull for fucks sake," Sougo complains in monotone.

"Seagulls don't say "see"! They say "mine", dumbass!" Hijikata corrects, totally forgetting the main point of the argument they had been holding only 5 seconds ago.

Realising this, Hijikata sighs and regains his posture.

"Anyways! If you can't baby-sit her properly, there is no choice but to make Yamazaki baby-sit her instead," Hijikata says, making his words final.

...or at least had planned to have it final until Sougo speaks up again.

"Yamazaki is no good, "minegull"-san. 'Cause she starts bawling just at the sight of him."

"Huh? Why?" Hijikata asks genuinely with a purely confused look, before realising something more important, "...wait! Just because they say "mine", doesn't mean they're called "minegulls"! No, wait! More importantly! MY NAME IS NOT MINEGULL-SAN!"

"How should I know what the hell the girl's thinking, Mine-san," Sougo says as he places his palms together before him to thank whoever for the meal he had.

"WHO THE FUCK IS "MINE"!? MY NAME IS HIJIKATA! STOP MAKING UP WEIRD NAMES!"

Ignoring Hijikata's usual rants, Sougo stands up and kneels before Kagura who still weeps continuously.

"Hijikata-san is always like this. He's known as the Demonic Vice-Commander and looks real scary and shouts at people a lot, but in reality he's really cowardly and won't ever, not even mistakenly, kill his comrades," Sougo starts explaining with a softer voice than previously.

"What nonsense are you blabbering now!?" Hijikata growls, but then sees that after Sougo's words Kagura had immediately stopped crying, making his eyes grow wide in surprise.

She had been sobbing so much until now, until Sougo's words.

Now those watery eyes just widely stares into those crimson pair of eyes.

Hijikata can't elucidate what's going on, for he had completely assumed and believed that Kagura had been crying 100% due to Sougo's fault.

"He's always thinking and looking out for his comrades and worries for us. He's actually a really nice guy once you get to know him," Sougo continues, "and he even said that he'll retire from his position as a vice-commander and let me take ov-"

"_WHO THE HELL SAID I WOULD HAND MY POSITION OVER TO A MORON LIKE YOU!?_" Hijikata bellows over Sougo's words before he can finish his sentence," It would NEVER happen even if the world gets destroyed twice and recovers for the third time! Or if there's a second big bang, and only you and I somehow manage to be the only ones alive, I'd _still_ not hand it over!"

Hijikata explodes with a mass of words shooting from his mouth, angry at himself for feeling touched at Sougo's words which had been no more than just empty words without any feelings conveyed within them.

He should have known that this is _Sougo_, he's talking about.

"Jeez, hold your horses, Hijikata-san. You know I was only joking (?)"

"What's with the "(?)", huh!? You're saying you aren't sure if you were joking or not!?"

So their argument goes on and Kagura, who is totally back to her normal self, quietly eats her breakfast while Vice-Commander Sougo and Ex-Vice Commander Hijikata in front of her no longer seems to interest her in any kind of way.

"Oi, you! You damn writer! Don't go doing whatever you like and change people's statuses without permission!" Hijikata squeaks in a small, mouse-like voice and is pitifully ignored by the writer.

"Don't you fuckin dare change the volume of my voice!" He goes on as the volume shrinks down and down and down, "This is totally favouritism! You think you have the right to-…" until the voice dies and is barely heard, "…h,hey! Oi!" 

* * *

BEEP!

(Tama's voice)

The power has died and system has automatically shut down.

To restart, please recharge 'Hijikata Toshiro' and press the "Jinsei (Human Life) Reset" button

Writer=snickers

Tama=expressionless

Hijikata=Furious

* * *

Even after meals, Kagura would follow Sougo like a duckling following straight behind the mother duck, and would put away the dirty dishes to the cleaners.

Seeing such a sight as they pass by at the hallway, Yamazaki beams.

"Ah, so Kagura-chan can eat now can she? That's a relief," Yamazaki exclaims.

"But what I don't get is, why the hell is she so magnetized to that son of a sadist?" Hijikata sighs as he puts a cigarette in his mouth and lights the end with a mini mayonnaise-shaped lighter.

"Apparently after taking her to that crime scene, he came back carrying her behind his back. And moreover, he didn't come straight back to the headquarters but instead walked around town until Kagura-chan calmed down and fell asleep. It seems like she's the first person since Mitsuba-san, that captain has ever truly cared about someone other than himself. I really was worried of what will happen to captain Okita when Mitsuba-san died. I wonder what or who was supporting him and got him back up onto his feet. And by the way, after all this, are you going to take Kagura-chan to an orphanage or hospital or like the sounds of that? And here I was thinking… etc etc etc"

"Seriously, shut the fuck up, Yamazaki!" Hijikata finally cuts in, irritated _to infinity and beyond_, "is that all you talking to yourself!? Are you trying to be a fuckin narrator of this story!?

"But I'm Jimmy (jimi= plain, boring) in character and I seem to be despised by Kagura-chan and I might not even come out in this story anymore! So this is my final chance to say as much as I can!" Yamazaki bursts crying as he continues to cry about how he couldn't even end his sentence and was pitifully shortened with a few "etc"s.

"Well, forget about you, we won't send that girl anywhere. She's only just one fragile girl we can't not handle."

"That's true," Yamazaki agrees, "and if we try to send her away, captain Okita would most likely try to stop at all costs."

_And it seems like Vice-Commander is also worried about Kagura-chan too, although he won't admit it out loud._

* * *

And so time flies, the autumn leaves nothing behind while winter awaits just around the corner.

Time and future continuously moves on, but unfortunately, the time inside Kagura stays frozen from since "that day".

Her true self is frozen inside hard diamond where no one can get through to her and she's doubled her guard with a padlock locking her heart.

Sougo has tried to punch and grind that diamond, but soon after gave up, realising his efforts are as useless as an alarm clock that doesn't ring on time.  
And as for the padlock, he knows well that the key to the padlock is only within the person's grasp who had locked it in the first place.

It's true that Kagura holds the key to the lock.  
But sometimes just a paperclip has its usefulness when it comes to opening the door to the school rooftop where it's been sealed with a no-entry sign.  
And Sougo has still yet to realise, that he possesses that paperclip in his pocket that may give him a hand to open that padlock of Kagura's.  
Perhaps the old Sougo, who would most likely to be one of those students to bunk classes and take a nap on the school rooftop, may be the one to be able to find Kagura who is waiting for him at the rooftop.

"To change people, first change yourself"

While Sougo still thinks Kagura is a weak and fragile china, he won't be able to bring back the old Kagura he's looking for.  
He has yet to realise that if he breaks that fragile china on the outside, the inside isn't empty and that he has to deal with a stronger and harder diamond which is where his starting line would be.

But to realise this, perhaps more time needs to pass by…

* * *

**Cye:  
**Hello to this fan-fic after like what, more than a year?

Ah~ time really flies.

Well, there had been quite a few requests about continuing over the year,

so here I am updating this story again.

Thanks for the favs and reviews!;)

For more chapters, more reviews would be helpful :D


	8. A flower unwilling to blossom

A Weak Beast made out of China  
OkitaxKagura  
~8~ A flower unwilling to blossom

* * *

_"Oiiiiiii KAGURA! GET YOUR ASS RIGHT BACK HERE YOU BRAT!"_

A shrilling alarm clock, coming from the mouth of a certain Demon-Vice-Commander of Shinsengumi, echoes down the hallway of the headquarters early in the morning.

And in contrast to that, soft pitter-pattering of small feet running across the said hallway is also heard, accompanied by soft and cheery laughter that may have well belonged to a fairy if such things existed in this world.

When the soft running footsteps become louder, the captain of the First Division slowly stirs awake from his slumber and peeks an eye out to glance at his clock.  
He groans at the time and pulls his blanket above his head to drift back into dreamland which of course, is never granted.  
The owner of the pair of the light padding of footsteps finally reaches right beside his ear before he feels her join him under the blankets for cover.

Sougo lazily shifts his eyes further down under the duvet covers to lock his gaze onto azure orbs that stares straight back at his.  
Heaving a great sigh, he pops his head out of the covers to greet a figure he wanted to see dead last.

"Oi… Sougo."

The voice is maintained in a calm tone, yet the smirk on the Demon-Vice-Commander gives a very menacing aura as he stands in the doorway with Sougo's fusuma door open to the maximum extent.

The short jet black hair of his wavers not the slightest as they all point downwards like black icicles that are slowly melting, as they are continuously dripping droplets of water.  
Moreover, the neck and shoulders of the Kinagashi, roomwear kimono, is so obviously darkened than any other part that you can tell it's drenched.

His looks are self-explanatory enough making Sougo laugh evilly mentally while he masks an unemotional, disinterested face as if there's nothing out of the ordinary to spot.

"What do you want, Mom? It's only 6 in the morning, you know? Dammit, at least let me sleep for an extra 6 hours," Sougo complains sleepily.

"What time do you plan on working from!? _Noon_, you slack ass!? Wake up and get that lazy ass out of the futon!" growls Hijikata in frustration.

"No, I don't want to die from work-overload. That's just too lame," comes the second complaint by Sougo.

"You'll _never EVER_ the slightest chance that you'll die of _work-overload_! I'll guarantee that!" Hijikata hollers.

"Well then, if you can please die from work-overload Hijikata-san, then I will gladly start working more professionally in your position," Sougo suggests a deal.

"Fine. If you like sleeping that much, then stay asleep under a grave forever!" Hijikata retorts, then realises that he's majorly getting side-tracked with the initial reason of his anger mark pasted upon his forehead.

(Hijikata to Author: Can you not say like as if it's a sticker that I happened to immaturely decide to stick it up there!?")

"…let that aside, Sougo! Bring out that sadist partner of yours that you're hiding! If you hand her over without resistance, I'll let _you_ get away with it just this once," Hijikata makes a deal this time.

"I don't know what you're talking about Hijikata-san," Sougo replies with a straight face.

"Don't play dumb you dumbass! I'm talking about that brat underneath that futon!" Hijikata starts shouting again because poor Hijikata-san doesn't have the word 'patience' and 'anger management' in his mind's dictionary.

(Hijikata to Author: _What was that!?_  
Author to Hijikata: Exactly.  
Hijikata to Author: _Huh!?_)

* * *

"Even if a brat's a brat, how can I expose it without ripping my belly apart? Stop spouting nonsense, Hijikata-san," Sougo sighs.

"_You're_ the one who should wake up and stop sleep-talking! You're a GUY! GUYS DON'T GET PREGNANT!" Hijikata madly hollers as his irritation meter just keeps rising constantly.

"Oh, didn't you know Hijikata-san? There's quite a few countries that allow gay marriages recently. For example Europe and America and C-"

"_THIS IS EDO!_" Hijikata screams out the correction in maximum frustration.

(Author to Hijikata: What? Was _that_ the most valid point to point out there?"

The more the inconvenient ridiculous rally escalates, the more Hijikata's anger and frustration are indicating towards Sougo instead, while Kagura's existence seems to diminish into the background.

Hijikata suddenly sneezes and then finally realises at this point, which is a bit too late, how freezing he is with wet hair and drenching outfit.  
Hijikata announces that he's going to go take a bath and leaves the room as Sougo just stares at the sight without the slightest feel of sympathy towards his vice-commander. Moreover, he wishes in his head that Hijikata would catch a cold so bad that it'll give him a hellish headache that will make him moan and groan without being able to leave the bed.

* * *

After the footsteps of Hijikata's is confirmed far away enough, Sougo flaps his futon off up to half way and smirks at the one patiently waiting at his side.

"Good job," Sougo praises Kagura, who beams a smile.

And time passes by like the wind as usual, but shockingly, it happens to be that Sougo's sadistic selfishness has also been blown away and to become one who baby-sits Kagura as if it's the most obvious task in the world that he has to accomplish. In the First Division Captain's list of who is important to him, had only been just his sister and himself, but now a new name had appeared on the list before Sougo himself realised that he had added the name, becoming like a brotherly existence towards Kagura, looking out for her.

Oh, but of course, don't forget that this is _The Ultimate Sadistic Sougo_ we're talking about who is the one taking care of _The (can be) Ultimate Sadistic Kagura_.  
If you hip-join the two, no matter how much Kagura is in a loss of her own memories, you can't avoid her true personality to change 180 degrees.

The two deadly sadistic pair.

And _especially_, I repeat, _especially_ when the "target" is Hijikata, of course it'll make big brother feel like bathing in bright sunlight named happiness. Once Kagura finds out that she gets praised by Sougo if she pranks Hijikata, there's no stopping her as if she's on fire.

The everyday pranks and her pitter-pattering everywhere around the headquarters becomes so natural by then, that all the soldiers would greet her as she passes by.

* * *

"Snow's just around the corner, huh…" Sougo mutters to himself as he stares outside since Hijikata kindly forgets to shut the fusuma door.  
When the words are spoken, he feels a tug of his roomwear near his chest and he looks down to see Kagura's small hand fisting his kinagashi.

"I don' t like… coldness," the usually mute Kagura voices her thoughts for once.

After the words escape her lips, Sougo's vision becomes darker than black and he finds himself standing before a clear water puddle stretched far out to more than he can see.

The sound of a drop of water landing on the puddle resonates the area.  
The small ripples move away in all angles from its starting point.

But suddenly, just one area seems to return the ripples before it disappears into the fine surface.  
The presence of someone there becomes more distinctive even though the darkness is the only thing there.  
The presence of a small beast-like existence which isn't one of those horrifying carnivorous beast, but more of a youngster that has lost its mother and is just cold, scared and lonely but still hides away to prevent from being seen.  
Untrusting to strangers. Fear to reach out for a helping hand.

The shivering hand upon the skin makes Sougo revert back to reality and without thinking, he wraps an arm around the small shoulders to share the body heat.

"It's not the coldness you hate, idiot…" Sougo murmurs, which catches Kagura's attention.  
She looks up and stares straight into Sougo's crimson eyes with such confusion that it nearly makes Sougo sigh deeply.

"Where on Earth are you right now?"

"…where…?"

"If you hate the coldness, then hurry up and come back where it's warm," Sougo sighs and gazes up at the ceiling, only to snap back his gaze towards Kagura by her next words.

"If the snow melts… then where does it disappear to?"

The blue orbs stare with such purity like the snow.  
The voice also as soft as snow.  
Yet in contrast to that, the words spilt from those lips had been one that indicates that she's wandering through the darkness alone and comparing herself to snow, making Sougo's heart ache.

The snow that has to fear the coming spring that will make her disappear…

_"If the snow melts… then where does it disappear to?"_

* * *

**A/N:**

**Oh yes, I am so not on the roll for this...**  
**Low on motivation, low on imagination, low on words...**  
**So then what am I high on?**  
**High on karaoke, high on business (work-wise), high on watching horror movies**  
**Actually, if people can give me suggestions on which horrors are awesome to watch.**

**Now relating back to this story. **  
**We're starting to get to the main bits where Sougo starts finding Kagura and vice versa.**  
**It is a love story (at least to some point anyways) **  
**I wonder how many years it's gonna take for me to finish this though...(or well, that's what it seems like where this is heading at this pace)**


End file.
